More Australians will be able to pick up their prescriptions for less money, as the government boosts medicine subsidies in the federal budget.
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which regulates prices of life-saving medications, will be increased by an extra $5.9 billion over the next four years to expand its menu of drugs fighting diseases like cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease and various cancers.
The savings per patient will vary according to the medicine.
The lowering of the price of cystic fibrosis treatment, for example, is set to save some Australians up to $250,000 per year.
In January, the maximum cost of a PBS-listed prescription was reduced to $25 for general patients and $7.70 for concession-card holders, equating to $50 million in total savings for medicine users since the beginning of 2026.
Funding for public hospitals will grow by $25 billion over the next five years.
Australia's 137 urgent care clinics, offering emergency treatment outside of hospitals and normal GP hours, look set to stay, with $1.8 billion in permanent funding over the next four years.
It's estimated almost three million people have already visited these clinics, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers saying 80 per cent of Australians will live within 20 minutes' drive of one by July.
Eligible adults are also opening wide for permanent funding of public dental services, with $431 million being spent up to 2031 and $108 million per year after that.
By 2030, medical boffins in labs can also expect a billion-dollar backing from the Medical Research Future Fund, steadily increasing from $650 million in 2025.
Aged care recipients will have more beds and services, but to pay for this the government has resolved to chip in less for their private health insurance.
The Howard-era decision to give over-65s a more generous insurance rebate has been scrapped, allowing for $3 billion of savings to be redirected to aged care over the next four years.
The budget also enshrined reforms to disability services, which are expected to remove 160,000 people from the NDIS and save up to $37.8 billion over the next four years.
